delivery to Brisbane. Thus, the water transfer would involve a mix of actual water transfer and credit exchange of one water supply for another, as well as the use of various existing water conveyance and storage facilities.

The accounting of the water transfer from OID to Brisbane must account for potential losses of some of the transfer water as a result of typical water system losses such as evaporation and leakage from conveyance canals or storage. Delivery reliability for Brisbane would also depend on the conveyance capacity available each year in the MID and SFPUC systems. In some seasons and some years, there may be limited capacity for MID or the SFPUC to store and/or convey OID’s supply through their system. In addition, the assessment of delivery reliability will consider the legal, policy, and regulatory requirements and constraints that guide MID and SFPUC water system operations. As noted in comments from MID, this effort may include review of existing laws, agreements, permits such as MID and SFPUC Tuolumne River water rights, the Raker Act, and agreements that govern operation of the Don Pedro Reservoir Water Bank.

If the Brisbane City Council certifies this program-level EIR, selects a Concept Plan for development of the Baylands, and adopts the corresponding General Plan land use plan and related development policies, then the next step in the planning process for Baylands water supply would be to work with OID, MID, and the SFPUC to develop a detailed water transfer operational plan based on detailed modeling of conveyance through the OID, MID, and SFPUC systems, recognizing the conveyance capacity of each agency to move the transfer water from OID to Brisbane. This plan would provide the detailed information necessary to establish specific terms and requirements for transfer operations and responsibilities for MID and SFPUC participation in the water transfer, thereby facilitating preparation of project-level environmental evaluation and documentation for the proposed water transfer.

Several comments raised concerns that the OID water transfer from Brisbane could adversely affect MID or SFPUC system operations or customer service/deliveries. However, it is expected that neither MID nor the SFPUC would allow conveyance of the OID water transfer to Brisbane to result in adverse effects on their operations or customers and that they would develop agreement terms with Brisbane for participation in the water transfer that protect their respective operations and customer deliveries. In the interest of supporting water transfers to help meet water supply needs within the state, state law provides that public agencies with unused water conveyance capacity shall make that capacity available for others to use to transfer water through their systems; however, the law does not require that agencies change or affect their operations or customer service and does allow them to charge an appropriate fee for use of their system.

To clarify the intent of the City and OID, the first full paragraph on page 3-68 of the Draft EIR is revised to read as follows:

Brisbane has negotiated a term sheet with OID for the proposed water transfer. Brisbane is responsible for establishing a transfer agreement with MID and a wheeling agreement with the SFPUC to provide for the conveyance of the OID water transfer to Brisbane. Implementation of the proposed water transfer/supply agreement will require approvals of